Finding Truth
by dreamer one
Summary: Just when they seemed to be happy, finally together and expecting their first child, Jack and Sam face their most personal challenge. The stakes are high: the future of their life together.
1. Chapter 1 Trouble In Paradise

Finding Truth

Chapter One: Trouble in Paradise

Samantha O'Neill seldom slept in. From long years of military discipline and force of habit, she was usually up and about before sunrise. But these days were different. Six months pregnant, she'd been fatigued and irritable. Unable to get to sleep before midnight on these hot summer nights, especially with Jack out of town, she'd taken to staying in bed till nearly 0800, at least on the weekends.

Slowly pulling herself to a sitting position on this particularly bright Saturday morning, Sam reluctantly took stock of her current predicament. Her habits were changing, her body was changing and to her surprise, she was changing. This pregnancy hadn't been the easiest. (Though Sam had nothing to compare it to, Dr. Lam had said as much.) Troubled by early bouts of morning sickness, a threatened miscarriage and unexpected mood swings, she was out of her element. Give her a good fight with a Goa'uld, a sun to blow up or a solar flare to predict and she was golden. But this was different. Sam had to admit, she was a bit taken aback by it all, particularly with Jack away in Washington so much.

When they'd finally gotten together a little over a year ago, it was with the understanding his final retirement would be a fait accompli in the near future. But here they were, one week shy of their first wedding anniversary and Jack O'Neill was still Head of Homeworld Security, the go-to-man whenever the President was feeling antsy about top secret intergalactic relations. Early on, when it became clear the retirement would happen later than anticipated, Sam had assured Jack it wasn't a problem. After all, she was a big girl with an important, powerful career of her own. She didn't need him by her side at all times simply because they were married. But now, pregnant, insecure, hormonal, she wasn't so sure. He'd been gone in Washington two weeks now, leaving her in Colorado Springs, knee deep in her own work and her own worries.

Sure he called or she called every day, sometimes twice a day when they were apart, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as the safety, the reassurance of his arms around her. Damn it, right now, in spite of herself, she needed that. She never thought she'd become that dependent on anyone, ever, not even the man she loved. If this is what happened when a woman was pregnant, she wasn't sure it was a very good idea anymore.

That thought frightened her. At first, she'd worried she wouldn't be able to conceive at all. And she wanted so much to have Jack's child. When they'd first discovered she was pregnant, both she and Jack were over the moon. It was the fulfillment of a cherished dream. But some days now she wasn't so sure.

If anyone deserved to be happy, to make it in a marriage, she thought, it was the two of them. They'd waited so long. Their love was true and tested. Certainly, they could make it through a little more separation. It shouldn't have been a problem. Maybe it was her, it had to be her, Sam thought. Jack loved her; she had no reason to doubt it. What she doubted was that she was enough for him. Let's face it, at six months pregnant she wasn't exactly the woman she used to be. She was huge, at least she felt huge. How he could be attracted to her now, she couldn't imagine. She'd already gained twenty pounds, most of it carried right up front, like a beach ball. To her own eyes she was ungainly. She'd finally resorted to maternity clothes and they made her feel even worse.

Of course Jack, prince that he was, told her she was more beautiful than ever. On her good days she believed him. Others, she suspected he was humoring her. Though they made love often, when he was gone she found herself worrying he might find someone else, someone younger, prettier, and not pregnant. She knew other women found him attractive. After his last trip to Washington, Jack had told her how one of these women put the moves on him at a post-conference reception. She could tell he felt guilty even though nothing had happened, at least that time.

To make things worse, her responsibilities at work had been curtailed, Landry restricting her to the occasional consult in the lab or working from home. She could thank Dr. Lam for that restriction. Actually, looking back she realized it was a result of her own stupidity.

She'd fainted in the Gateroom, forgotten to eat. It hadn't been the first time, but Carolyn Lam had decided it would be the last during this admittedly high risk pregnancy. For a moment, Sam couldn't remember why that was such a big deal, she'd skipped meals many times before when focused on a project. But the difference was she was pregnant. She couldn't get away with cutting the corners she'd cut so often in the past.

She wasn't the same person and she was beginning to feel fairly useless. Today was a case in point. Here she was at home, a long day stretching ahead of her, and not a heck of a lot on her schedule. Daniel was coming over for a visit this afternoon; for that she was grateful. And, thankfully, Jack would be home tomorrow. She needed a distraction, and she needed an attitude adjustment.

Just as Colonel Samantha Carter was preparing herself for an uneventful, boring day, the doorbell rang. It was one of the children from the house next door. Five-year-old Laurie stood on the porch, smiling up at Sam.

"Hi, Sam," Laurie said. The little girl frequently found her way to the O'Neills' while her mother watched from the house next door. She was always a ray of sunshine. Sam was glad to see her.

"Hi, Laurie," Sam replied. "How are you today, sweetheart?" Sam asked, waving to Laurie's mother across the driveway.

"I am wonderful!" The irrepressible little girl answered in her typically high spirited tone. "I brought you mail," Laurie continued, reaching up to offer a small envelope.

Sam looked at her quizzically and then towards her mother. By now, Laurie's mom, Karen, had walked across the drive and was standing behind her daughter. With a shrug of her shoulders she denied any knowledge of what might be in the envelope.

"Don't know Sam," Karen said. "A woman came to the door this morning and handed this to Laurie. It had your name on it."

"It's okay," Sam said. "I'll check it out."

"Okay," Karen said. "Oh, after you do, why not come over for a visit."

"I'll do that," Sam said. A little visit with the neighbors might be just what the doctor ordered. "Give me an hour to get myself together and I'll be over."

Saying a pleasant goodbye to Laurie and Karen, Sam went back into the house, poured herself a cup of coffee. Giving in to her curiosity, she opened the envelope. There was a small note card tucked around what was obviously a DVD, apparently homemade.

Two lines were scribbled on the note card.

"_Colonel Carter, I thought you should know what your husband is doing behind your back. He doesn't deserve you."_

Of course the note was unsigned.

For a moment, Sam considered tossing out the DVD and the note. Anonymous, uninvited information about someone she loved, well, she knew better than to put much faith in that sort of thing. Still, she had to know what it was.

With that thought in mind she popped the DVD into the player and sat down to watch whatever would be displayed. The first images that greeted her were of well known landmarks in Washington, sites she was familiar with from her own days there and from her recent visits to Jack's office and apartments. Whatever the unknown person or persons taped must have happened fairly recently as she caught sight of a demonstration in the background, one she'd read about only this past weekend.

Then Jack's face came into view. The shot was a cropped close up, most likely taken with a telephoto lens from some distance. He was walking in front of the Pentagon. As the camera pulled out, it was clear he wasn't alone. A young brunette was walking with him. Though there was no sound, they seemed to be having a heated conversation.

Suddenly the scene changed. The camera panned widely to highlight the lobby of a hotel. Sam was familiar with this location. She'd stayed there with Jack more than once. But before she could acclimate herself, the scene changed again. Her breath caught in her chest. It couldn't be … this wouldn't happen … Jack wouldn't do this …

The television screen filled with the image of a sumptuous bedroom, presumably in the same hotel. The camera focused on the king sized bed in the middle of the room.

The same woman she'd watched innocently walking with her husband a moment ago was now sprawled across the bed, wearing nothing more than a bra and panties. Without preamble a man walked into the scene and joined her, tossing off what seemed to be a hotel issue robe to reveal a well toned, lean muscular body. It didn't take Sam long to realize the man's identity. She didn't need to see his face. She was looking at the man who'd made love to her with fierce gentleness and gentle longing these past several months, the man who'd fathered the child she carried, the man she loved more than she imagined possible. As her heart fluttered painfully, she watched that man approach the other woman and lower himself to the bed, covering her with his own body. She watched until she could watch no longer. Then she switched off the picture, placed her head in her hands and cried.

TBC

* * *

A/N: My intention with this piece is to tell an adult (**not** explicit sex, but real, explicit emotions) story about the relationship between Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter as I imagine it progressing after season 10. Unlike other recent novel length works I've put out there, I am promising to keep this one to ten chapters or less. Most likely they will be longer chapters and posted less frequently, however my goal will be to put one up at least once a week until the story is done. Your reviews will be eagerly awaited and much appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2 Critical Thinking

Chapter 2: Critical Thinking

Daniel whistled as he approached Jack and Sam's house. After a year to get used to the idea, he still found it exceedingly cool to think of "Jack and Sam's house". It was so right. It gave him a distinct sense of pleasure to know something had worked out right in this crazy universe he lived in.

He knew Sam was having a hard time with the pregnancy, her restricted work schedule and Jack's absence. So Daniel had stepped up to his role as Sam's big brother and Jack's best man. When he'd been able, that is not on another planet, he'd made a point of visiting and doing his best to raise Sam's spirits, distract her from her current predicament. Today was no exception. With that goal in mind, he'd stopped off at the local ice cream parlor and picked up two pints of Sam's favorite: Mocha Espresso Chip. A little jolt of caffeine couldn't hurt and Sam's eyes never failed to light up when he made the offering.

Pulling into his friends' driveway about 1100 hours, he was dismayed to see the drapes drawn and the house closed up tight on this gorgeous late summer's day. He knew Sam had been struggling with some low feelings, but hoped she was coming out the other side with the help of her friends. This was not a good sign.

His initial knock went unanswered. After a moment's worry, he tried again, pounding a bit more vehemently this time. His efforts and aching knuckles were rewarded as the door cracked open, revealing the darkened interior of the home and his friend standing at the door, still in her robe. It was obvious she'd been crying.

"Daniel," she said, suddenly remembering she was expecting a visit from her friend and teammate. She pulled herself up sharply, straightening the robe and opening the door a bit wider.

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "I'm a sight." Scrambling for an excuse, she added, "I must have fallen back asleep. Give me a minute. I'll throw on some clothes." Then, "Have a seat. I know there's coffee around here somewhere."

Sam left him standing in the doorway before Daniel could get a word out. At least, she seemed okay physically. The tears were another thing altogether. But he'd get to the bottom of that one soon enough.

Daniel's heart went out to Sam. He'd worked side by side with her ten years now, respected and cared about her more than anyone would imagine. She was an over responsible workaholic who'd finally given herself permission to have a life with the man she'd loved for years. As happy as she was about that, he knew she was struggling to adjust to her new roles. Wife, expectant mother, they were sets of expectations foreign to this brilliant, fiercely independent, action oriented woman. One at time would have been enough, but both, it was a lot even for Sam Carter

With that thought, Sam returned to the living room. Now dressed in maternity blue jeans and a loose, colorful tee-shirt, she'd brushed her rumpled hair and applied a bit of blush. It made a difference. She looked a little less forlorn than when he'd first arrived. Also contributing to the improvement was the fact Daniel had rolled up the blinds and thrown open the windows while Sam was getting dressed. He could tell Sam noticed that change. It was sure a lot brighter in here than when he'd first arrived.

"Thanks," Sam said, walking up and giving him a warm peck on the cheek. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Daniel echoed. His eyes searched hers for the truth. The tears were gone, hidden no doubt behind Sam's well honed defenses, but her eyes were red and swollen.

"I brought ice cream," Daniel announced as Sam made her way to the kitchen and began to make coffee. "Espresso, it should make a good supplement to the coffee you're brewing."

Sam turned from her task and rewarded Daniel with a weak smile.

"Sounds like something I could use right now."

A few minutes later the two friends sat down with their caffeine treats. With Daniel's urging, they moved to the outdoor veranda to take advantage of the glorious summer sun. Whatever was eating at Sam, Daniel hoped the beautiful weather could help her work through it.

:"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.

:"I suppose if I said everything's fine, you …"

"I'd say you were lying," Daniel finished for her. "So cut to the chase. What is it?"

"Do you think he'd cheat?" Sam asked without preamble. Once the question was out, she sat down next to Daniel.

"Do I think who would cheat on what?" Daniel asked.

Sam couldn't help but chuckle numbly. This was ridiculous. Of course he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Jack … do you think he'd cheat?"

"Cheat? On his income tax, cards, the Goa'uld? What?" Daniel fumbled.

"On me," Sam clarified. "Do you think he'd cheat on me?"

You could have knocked Daniel over with a feather. Of all the things he'd thought might have been bothering Sam this morning, this he had not considered.

"Jack? … Cheat? … On you? Ah, no …" Daniel stumbled. "Not if you mean what I think you mean." For the life of him, he hoped she was talking about cheating on those lame crosswords she liked so much. That, however, was highly unlikely, given the tears.

And now they started again, the tears. Just a few, silent drops, leaking from Sam's swollen lids, their passage betrayed by her convulsive swallowing, desperately trying to contain the sobs that threatened to make their presence known.

"That's what I thought," Sam said at last, responding to Daniel's denial of the awful possibility. "At least until I saw this," she finished, brandishing the offensive DVD that had triggered the tears in the first place.

"What is it?" Daniel asked. He took the proffered disc and stared at it like he would an alien artifact.

Sam silently gestured to the television set in the other room.

"Watch it," she said, "then we'll talk."

Daniel had a bad feeling about this. Sam wasn't giving him much to go on and the look on her face told him not to ask. He stood up and made to fulfill her request.

"You coming?" Daniel asked as he started to make his way inside.

"No, I saw all I needed to see," she said flatly. "I'm not watching it again. I'll be in the kitchen when you're done."

OoOoOo

The tape wasn't long. Vivid, tasteless, but short, especially considering the damage it was sure to cause.

Daniel sat immobile in front of the set. He'd watched a fifteen minute videotape which might well doom his best friends' marriage. He was aghast. Sitting with his mouth wide open, he could only imagine what Sam had thought watching the sordid display. Little more than a porn video with Jack O'Neill in a starring role, it was disturbing to say the least. It couldn't be … could it?

The man he knew would never do this to his wife. They were in love, had been for as long as Daniel had known them. It was unthinkable, at least for the Jack O'Neill he'd known these past ten years. Then again, how well did you really know anybody?

With a heavy heart and unfamiliar disdain, Daniel removed the DVD from the play and placed it in his pocket. Then he made his way to the kitchen. True to her word, Sam was there waiting for him.

Seated at the kitchen table, staring at her hands, she looked up warily when Daniel entered the room. Now he knew.

Daniel sat across the table from Sam. The world's foremost expert on wormhole physics looked as if she'd lost everything that mattered. And in a sense she may have.

"We can't be sure that's him," Daniel offered.

Sam nodded hollowly. "Right."

"You know we've seen all sorts of wild forgeries, impersonations," he continued, willing it to be so. "There could a number of things going on here. Mimic devices…"

"What about the obvious?" Sam interrupted.

"You mean Jack's cheating?"

"Yeah, that," Sam said haltingly. "It happens. As much as I can't imagine he'd do that, it happens.

"Jack loves you," Daniel said. With the words he thought were the most important to say aloud, he turned towards Sam and fixed her with solemn eyes. "Until this is proved to be a genuine, unaltered recording, I'm not buying it and neither should you."

"I don't want to Daniel," Sam said. "But watching him with that woman…" Sam broke eye contact, unable to continue.

Right then the phone rang. Sam jumped up, eager for something to distract her. As luck would have it, this particular caller would be anything but a distraction. Caller ID announced the caller as none other than Jack O'Neill.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Daniel asked when the phone kept ringing.

"It's Jack," Sam said.

Daniel simply looked at her. She made no move to answer it.

"He'll be worried," Daniel volunteered.

Sam had no idea how to answer that one. She knew _she_ was worried. Jack might as well be too.

"You have to talk with him sometime," Daniel said. "He is coming home tomorrow."

"Then I'll talk with him tomorrow."

TBC

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all of you for your attention to this story. I was glad to hear from so many of you. Your responses certainly gave me the push I needed to keep on with the story, so much so in fact that this chapter was ready tonight and I thought I might as well post it. And you were pretty clear on your idea of whether or not Jack really did the dastardly deed.

Please continue to review. I'm interested to hear your thoughts about the story and characterizations.


	3. Chapter 3 The Pain of Doubt

Chapter Three: The Pain of Doubt

After Daniel left, Sam was alone in a silent house. Fueled by nervous energy, it took her all of thirty minutes to complete the simple household tasks of the day. She had planned to work on the wormhole physics book she'd started when General Landry first restricted her duties. But her heart wasn't in it, so she left it be. For the past forty-five minutes, she'd sat on the patio, watching the sun go down, ignoring Jack's repeated phone calls and doing her best to avoid replaying the evidence of Jack's betrayal in her mind.

Unable to stay himself (General Landry had ordered him off world with SG 11), Daniel had insisted Sam not be alone tonight. At first, the highly decorated, pregnant Air Force Colonel was indignant. What did he think she was going to do anyway? But now she was glad. The specter of being alone with her morose thoughts all through the night was unpleasant if not downright depressing. If she needed a companion, she had to admit, Vala was a good choice.

Vala Mal Doran had become an unexpected friend over the past two years. The irrepressible former Goa'uld host had acclimated to her life among humans surprisingly well. And she'd proven herself a surprisingly discrete confidant, when she wanted to be. Sam couldn't help but think Daniel had helped a lot in that area. It was clear the two were in a fairly close relationship. To Sam's delight, the closeness seemed to benefit both of them. So when Daniel asked Sam's permission to bring Vala up to speed on what was going on, she'd agreed.

And now the cavalry had arrived.

"You didn't have to come," Sam said, opening the front door to find the provocatively dressed woman waiting for her.

"Perhaps," Vala replied, responding to Sam's less than enthusiastic welcome. "However, Daniel threatened severe repercussions if I refused."

"Right," Sam said. "I can see that." Sam smiled in spite of herself. She could hardly imagine Vala being threatened by anyone, let alone Daniel. As if to prove her right, Vala walked directly past Sam and into the house without an invitation. And she proceeded to make herself at home, flopping unceremoniously on the first chair she saw and propping her legs up on the coffee table.

"How are you?" the supremely self confident visitor asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

"Not so bad," Sam answered, working mightily to respond in kind. Maybe if she hadn't told Daniel anything, it would simply go away. Maybe it wasn't too late. Then again, she could tell Vala wasn't buying it

"You do know that men tend to do these things," Vala said.

"What things?" Sam played dumb. "Sleep around?"

"Well, what I mean to say is… well … monogamy is a relative thing to them," Vala proposed. "It certainly has been with my men."

Sam huffed and shook her head.

"Relative?" Sam questioned. "You mean like kind of pregnant?"

Vala smirked.

"In my experience men see things differently than we do sometimes," she explained.

"What … like no one will get hurt?" Sam delivered her less than understanding rebuttal with a noticeably bitter tone.

Vala breathed heavily and remembered her reaction to the infidelity of her first "true" love. She certainly had been hurt.

"Like sex isn't everything," Vala clarified. "Like sex and love are separate."

Sam remained silent. Vala, with uncharacteristic thoughtfulness joined in the quiet for a moment, before speaking again.

"Maybe a more important question is: do you believe it?"

"That Jack had sex with another woman?" Sam rightly discerned the question. "I don't want to believe it, never would have believed it without seeing that video. But here I sit, looking like a beached whale. I don't know; maybe all of this," she waved her arms around at the house and finally at her protruding abdomen, "maybe it was too much for him."

Vala looked at her friend sympathetically. "I don't _know_ either, but I'd say he's extremely into you."

Sam scrunched up her face as if waiting for translation from the alien woman.

"Well, that's what the young people say these days, right?" Vala provided. "He's either into you or he's not. I'm just saying, from what I've seen and heard General Jack O'Neill is _really_ into you. I think it would take a lot to make him step out."

_Vala's been watching way too many TV talk shows_, Sam thought. Still, she had a point. At least Sam's heart wanted to believe it.

"I hope you're right," she said.

Vala looked over to see tears welling up in Sam's eyes. She hated it when people cried. During her years as the Goa'uld Qetesh, Vala had witnessed tears aplenty and hardened herself to them, one and all. Since she'd been released, she maintained some of that distance, joking, making light and ignoring genuine emotion. Often it was simply too much. If she were to open herself up to the pain all around her, she felt as though she would suffocate. Emotional distance was the only way she'd survived Adria.

And so she did what she knew, handed Sam a box of Kleenex, hoping the tears would stop. Unable to keep silent, she tacked on one last piece of considered wisdom.

"It's probably not true you know," she blurted out. "And if it is, he's not worth crying over."

Sam stared at her friend. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it wouldn't be that easy.

"You could have asked him when he called this afternoon, you know," Vala said.

"I didn't want to hear his voice," Sam replied. "I was hoping it was all a bad dream."

"And you think if you don't ask it will go away?"

"Maybe I'm too angry to ask," Sam suggested. "Anyway, he'll be home tomorrow. I can't put it off forever."

"You could pretend you never saw the tape," Vala countered facetiously.

"Right," Sam said. "That would last about five minutes before I hit him over the head with it."

"Or burst out crying," Vala supplied earnestly, watching her friend's tear streaked face.

"What would you do if it were Daniel?" Sam asked after a moment.

_Damn it_, Vala thought. She'd survived betrayals by all of the men in her life. In fact she'd come to expect it. But Daniel, she had to admit, with him she expected more.

"I would probably weep a bit as well."

TBC

* * *

A/N:1) Wow, from the unexpected, but much appreciated, number of reviews I think you really care about these characters;

2) I really did expect to finish one chapter a week on this one. However since I am clearly addicted to reviews, your enthusiasm has made me more enthusiastic about the story. My only hesitation about posting again tonight is I'm not at all sure I can keep up nightly posting. So please don't hate me when it slows down.

3) I've never written anything serious for Vala before, so please offer any feedback, suggestions you can.

4) And don't worry, Jack returns in the next chapter. (Keep him in your prayers; I think he'll need all the help he can get.)


	4. Chapter 4 Jack's Home

Chapter Four: Jack's Home

Sam and Vala talked long into the night. When they were talked out, they sat together in companionable silence. Sam fell asleep around 0200 hours. Not surprisingly, she dreamt of Jack.

Awakening the next morning, Sam felt guilty. Guilty she'd refused to answer Jack's calls. Guilty she'd let herself even consider the possibility the video was genuine. Now in the cold light of a new day, she lay in her bed, their bed and tried to imagine the man she'd known and loved so long intentionally causing her pain. It was unthinkable. Not Jack. He didn't have it in him.

Still, she couldn't get the hateful images out of her head.

OoOoOo

When Jack arrived, Sam was more confused than ever.

Normally, Jack's return home was a cause for celebration. The man himself would enthusiastically burst through the front door, holler something absurd and upbeat (for example, Sammie, I'm home!); Sam would roll her eyes, then run and throw her arms around him.

But that wouldn't happen today, not by a long shot. For better or worse, Jack had been headed off at the pass. First, Daniel had called him last night, reassuring him of Sam's safety after half a dozen unanswered phone calls. Respecting Sam's wishes, Daniel avoided any mention of the DVD, saying Sam would explain everything when he got home.

For good measure, where Jack would typically get a cab home from the airport, today he was met by an old friend.

"T., thanks for picking me up," Jack said sotto voice. "Do you know what's going on? Daniel wouldn't tell me a thing."

Teal'c ignored his friend, walking a step or two ahead all the way to the baggage claim. Something was up. Exactly what it was, Jack had no idea. And he could only take the silent treatment so long.

"Hey, why won't Sam talk to me?" Jack persisted. _Why won't _you _talk to me_? he wondered.

"Come on, is she okay?"

"Samantha's physical health is fine," the inscrutable Jaffa warrior finally replied. As usual, Teal'c's face was a blank, unreadable slate. "Daniel Jackson was correct to avoid offering further information. That will be up to Samantha."

Jack resigned himself to a long drive home. He knew better than to try and get information out of Teal'c when he didn't want to divulge it. Whatever else was going on, Jack needed to know Sam was okay. That's all that really mattered. And he'd be able to see that for himself soon enough.

OoOoOo

To his great surprise and disappointment, Vala was the first one Jack saw when he opened his front door. On its face, that worried him. Since Sam was spending more time at home, she'd always been there to meet him. The fact that Vala was staring an unfriendly hole through the center of his forehead made things even worse.

"Vala Mal Doran," Teal'c began as he walked up to stand alongside O'Neill, "it is time for us to leave."

"No, I don't believe it is," Vala responded. "I'm not leaving my friend alone _with him_."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked incredulously. His anxiety rising, he was relieved to see Sam come around the corner towards him.

"It's okay Vala," she said. "Thanks for staying last night. Everything will be fine. I need to talk with Jack."

_She looks okay_, Jack thought. _If there were something wrong with the baby, she'd be in the hospital, right? _He didn't know what to think. That had to change and soon.

"What's going on here?" Jack asked. "Are you okay, Sam?"

Sam had all she could do not to run to him. It was instinctive. But she held back. Her pride held her back. Still her eyes found his and refused to let go.

Even Vala got the message.

"We'll be going, Sam," she said. "Call me if you need _anything_."

Vala hugged Sam warmly, smiled at her friend and then turned towards the door. On her way out she moved past Jack, stopped and offered a piece of advice.

"She loves you … always will. Don't mess it up." The thinly veiled warning in the audacious woman's words could not be missed.

Then with her infamous flare, she turned to Teal'c, "Okay, Muscles, we're out of here."

"Indeed."

And they were gone, leaving Jack and Sam alone.

Jack was the first to speak.

"Are you alright?" he asked, moving to close the distance between them.

"I'm fine," Sam replied coldly, never taking her eyes from him. The closer he came, the more she wanted to find her home in his arms, feel his strong reassuring body against her own, forgetting everything. But as he reached out for her, she pulled back. For the first time in a long time, Sam pulled away from Jack.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. "T. wouldn't tell me a thing. What is it?"

She turned away and moved to leave the room.

"Sam," he called after her. "What's going on?"

Before Jack could follow her into the next room, Sam had retraced her steps and stood before him.

"Someone sent this to me yesterday," she said solemnly, holding the offending DVD in her hand. "I want you to watch it and tell me it's a lie."

In spite of herself, Sam was crying. She'd promised herself that wouldn't happen. As it was she stood there in front of Jack, shaking like a leaf. It was inevitable. Jack moved closer and as he always did when she was upset, tried to make it better the only way he knew how, with action, not words. And as she knew he eventually would, the man she doubted enfolded her in his arms. This time she didn't pull away. She couldn't bring herself to pull away. This is what she'd wanted the two weeks he'd been gone. How could anyone take this away from her? How could this be a lie? Or was Vala right? Did men see love and sex differently?

Whatever the truth was, the sobs began to sound in earnest now. The sobs she'd held inside for over twenty-four hours, she cried them out in the arms of her husband and lover, the man someone wanted her to believe had betrayed her. Jack held her tightly, rubbing her back with one hand and cradling her head tenderly with the other.

"So what's this about?" Jack whispered into her hair after a few moments.

Sam pulled back from the embrace just enough to look into his eyes.

"You and another woman," she said. "It's a video of you and a woman in Washington."

"What??"

Of all the things Jack had considered during his troubled trip home, this was not one of them. Pulling back, but still standing close enough to feel her breath on his cheek, he reached out to grab the disc. He studied it for a second, before returning his gaze to Sam's puffy, reddened eyes.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize what Sam was implying was on the tape. Jack sucked in a deep breath, struggling to take it all in. His eyes were deadly serious and fixed on his wife's face. He spoke softly, but his voice was thick with emotion.

"Whatever's on this tape, I haven't done anything to hurt us," he said. "I swear, Sam."

With those words he chastely kissed the top of Sam's head and embraced her once again. Then, in perfect synchrony, they both pulled apart. Jack took the disc and walked alone into the living room. Dreading the experience, he placed the DVD in the player and sat down to watch fifteen minutes that could change their lives.

OoOoOo

Twenty minutes later, Jack sat staring at a blank screen.

Half an hour ago, he would have sworn he was innocent. He'd never cheated on his wife. Someone had made it up, altered something or impersonated him. Now, well now, the centerpiece of that truth was intact. He'd never cheated on Sam, his wife. But what he'd just watched reminded him of the first time he'd "cheated" on the woman he loved. In fact, it was the documentation of that event, in living color. He'd had no idea the woman had taped them. What's worse, Sam had watched this, probably assuming it was recent. God knows, the way it was set up, that's what she was supposed to think.

All of that was beside the point. Now he knew why she was in so much pain, why she refused to talk with him last night, and the cause of her tears this morning. There wasn't time to sit here with his own feelings, trying to make sense of what was happening. He needed to go to Sam, to help her understand as much as he could.

OoOoOo

"I'm sorry," he said. Standing in the doorway leading to the backyard, Jack closely watched every movement Sam made as she realized he was there.

Sam remained seated in a wicker rocker, positioned gracefully on the patio, in full sun. The pose highlighted her natural beauty. As always he was enthralled by her presence. Her pregnancy, in his mind, only made her more attractive. For Jack O'Neill, the thought of seeking female companionshipship, even sex, anywhere else was ludicrous.

"You're sorry?" She parroted. Her voice was shaky, tentative, as if afraid to know the reality behind his declaration.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

_Oh God_, Sam thought, _he's not even denying it_.

"So," she began, her voice failing her briefly, "the man is you, really you."

Jack winced to see the pain in Sam's face.

"Yeah it's me," he admitted, "but it's me six years ago."

Sam closed her eyes, turned her face up to the sun and exhaled a long, painful breath. Tears flowed again, but this time they were tears of relief. A niggling voice in the back of her head suggested Jack might be lying. But she knew that wasn't so. She knew it in her heart as surely as she knew her own name. As she opened her eyes, Jack was beside her, pulling up a patio chair and preparing to sit directly in front of her. He hesitated as if asking permission. She nodded silently and reached out her hand.

Jack's face was drawn, misery, embarrassment and anger writ large. In that moment, Sam recognized and understood all of those emotions.

"What happened, Jack?" Sam asked, reaching out to take his hand. "What is this about?"

"Remember how I told you a woman invited me to her hotel room last time I was in Washington?" Jack watched Sam nod her head. "The woman on the tape is the one I was talking about. Her name is Vanessa Miller."

"So the shots of the two of you in front of the Capitol, they were ..."

"Genuine, and recent, most likely," Jack said. "Happened four weeks ago when I was in Washington. I'm guessing the clip on the tape was me explaining to her that I had no interest in following her to her hotel."

"Neither of you looked very happy," Sam observed.

"You can say that again," Jack said. "Sam, there's something I didn't tell you. I didn't think there was any reason to bring it up. I knew Vanessa before. I _was_ with her in that hotel; only that part was six years ago."

"You recall exactly? Must have been memorable," Sam said, her voice tinged with sadness and dread.

"It was memorable alright," Jack said sarcastically. "Memorable because of what I was trying to avoid, my feelings for you."

Sam looked at him intently waiting for an explanation of something that at face value made little sense.

"It was right after you got taken over by that electrical thingy from the computer," he said, gesturing wildly with his arms like he did whenever he had trouble finding the precise scientific words. "Sam, we've talked about that. I thought I'd killed you. I couldn't take it."

"That was the first time you really pulled away from me."

"Yeah," he affirmed. "As much as I wanted to be with you, I knew it wasn't possible. And if I didn't let go of you, I'd never be able to do my job. So I tried to make myself forget what I felt for you, put you out of my head. I'm not proud of it, but that's what my time with Vanessa was about. I was with her two nights six years ago. Never saw her again until a few weeks ago in DC. A five minute conversation on the street in front of the Pentagon, that was it."

They'd learned to read each other so well in the past twelve years. Sam knew Jack was telling the truth and Jack knew she believed him. They both felt the relief.

"Do you think Vanessa did this?" Sam asked. "Do you think she sent the tape?"

"I don't know why she would," Jack answered honestly.

"If not her, then who could hate us enough to do this?" Sam asked.

"I can think of one or two enemies we've made over the years," he replied.

"Only one or two?"

Jack shrugged. "That depends. Just on Earth, or are we including other planets?" Jack quipped, his trademark smirk in evidence for the first time since he'd come through the door.

He was rewarded with a wan smile. It was better than nothing.

TBC

* * *

A/N: Okay, for those of you who were truly worried, there was no way I could see Jack actually doing what the tape suggested, when it suggested he did it.

Now to figure out who's behind all of this.

Stay tuned

And wow ... thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to make the rest of the read equally interesting. Let me know how I do.


	5. Chapter 5 Starting the Investigation

Chapter Five: Starting the Investigation

Jack had arrived home from the airport shortly before 0900. After talking out the details of what had transpired and calming each other's frayed nerves, it was way past time for lunch. Not that Sam noticed, but Jack did. When he was home, he made it his business to be sure Sam was eating for two.

While Jack made sandwiches, they talked. As they sat quietly in the warm afternoon sun eating their lunches, they talked. They talked more as they cleaned up the kitchen. And then they sat quietly together in the backyard until Sam fell asleep in her favorite lounge chair. Jack smiled, found a light cotton throw and tucked it around her. He'd rather hold her in his arms to keep away the chill of the gentle summer breeze, but Sam hadn't wanted that today. It was something he understood given what she'd witnessed, yet it bothered him more than he could say.

In any case, Sam falling asleep gave Jack time to think. Granted, that wasn't something many people connected with Jack O'Neill. A man of action, always moving or fiddling with something, sitting and thinking about himself didn't happen often. But at the moment, he couldn't avoid it. For the past three hours, he and Sam had talked through their feelings and fears for and about each other. Now, for the moment, he was alone with his own thoughts. And they were a jumble.

He'd changed, a lot. Over the past two years or so, since he and Sam had gotten together, Jack had started talking. About life, about his feelings, about his past, he talked. Looking back he was amazed. And he was grateful. If that change hadn't happened, the DVD delivered to Sam yesterday might have destroyed them.

As it was, they'd talked it out. Five years ago, that would never have happened. His failure to deal with feelings was part of what led to Vanessa Miller in the first place. But now, he didn't have to run off, fearful Sam didn't care for him. Even with the doubt he saw in her eyes this morning, he didn't run. He confronted the situation head on and talked it through. And they trusted each other enough to know they'd be okay. What's more Jack was man enough to give her whatever space she needed.

Still, he was beset with a bevy of conflicting feelings. In the emotional soup, two feelings were front and center, his love for Sam and his rage at whoever had put her through this.

Despite his occasionally silly, macho posturing, Jack was a sensitive man, especially when it came to his wife's feelings. He knew full well how insecure she was right now. Though logically, there was no reason for it, she actually thought he might be attracted to someone else. From his experience with Sara when she was pregnant with Charlie and discussions with Carolyn Lam he realized Sam was at the mercy of an unfamiliar barrage of hormones. Add that to her restrictions at work, and there couldn't have been a worse time for her to be subjected to something like this. Much as he'd learned to respect Sam's ability to take care of herself, these days he was surprised by how protective he felt towards her.

He couldn't blame her for doubting him after watching that god awful video. He was gratified she'd believed him immediately once they'd had the chance to talk. Once past the video itself, their conversation had turned towards the strength and importance of their relationship and how very much both of them wanted to preserve their marriage. Jack had taken the opportunity to reaffirm his love for Sam. The miserable fool who'd sent the tape in the first place would be greatly disappointed.

As soon as Sam woke up, Jack intended to do something about finding that person, and make him or her very sorry. Vanessa Miller would be the obvious place to start, if he could find her. Being the head of a major military intelligence agency had its advantages in that regard. Still he was determined to keep the inquiries unofficial, for Sam's sake, until he knew exactly what was going on.

While Jack contemplated how to best use the resources at his disposal, Sam began to stir. He walked over to her and looked down to see her gorgeous blue eyes flutter open.

"Hi, sleepyhead," he greeted her.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you,"

"Hey, you've got good reason," he said. "Just don't start blaming it on my soothing personality."

She shook her head.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Going on two hours now," He said.

"Holy Hannah," she exclaimed, pulling herself up to a sitting position. Once upright, she was able to collect her thoughts.

"What do we do, Jack?"

"Find out who did this," he replied without missing a beat. Then, almost as an after thought he added, "Do you mind if we have Vala and the guys over tonight."

"Of course not," Sam answered. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we could use their help," he said. "And besides, I think I have a reputation to repair."

OoOoOo

That afternoon while Sam completed simple preparations for dinner, Jack made a few calls to find the current location of Vanessa Miller, the woman on the tape. It wasn't that difficult. Apparently she wasn't trying to hide.

At 1900, Teal'c, Daniel and Vala arrived for dinner. Jack had insisted Sam do the inviting as none of them had seemed terribly pleased with him last they'd talked. Sure enough, at Sam's request everyone agreed to come.

Before sitting down to dinner, Jack and Sam explained what they now knew about the scenes on the DVD and their assumption that someone had clipped the recent scene in front of the Pentagon onto the older secretly obtained recording.

"I am glad to hear this O'Neill," Teal'c said solemnly. "If it had been otherwise, I would have been required to take action on Samantha's behalf."

"You wouldn't," Jack suggested.

"What were you gonna do," Daniel asked, his mood greatly lightened by what he'd heard in the past few minutes.

"There is a Jaffa tradition concerning the honor of married women. It involves a painful ..."

"Ack ... enough ... let's just leave it at 'not guilty', huh?" Jack insisted.

"Are we sure, Sam?" Vala asked in a whisper directed to her friend.

"Yes, I'm sure," Sam said.

"You don't want me to check out the tape once or twice?"

"Vala!" Daniel remonstrated.

"I'm just saying if it is an _old_ tape, there will be inconsistencies in the General's physical appearance between then and now."

Jack wanted to strangle the woman. Sam was blushing, but holding back laughter at her friend's unparalleled nerve. Propriety and Vala Mal Doran still needed to get acquainted.

"It's okay, Vala," she said. "We've got it covered."

"I'm just saying …'

"Jack told us what happened. We believe him, Vala," Daniel said, doing his best to remember his lover didn't know Jack as well as they did. In her desire to protect her friend, in this case, Sam, she could be ferocious.

It was bad enough the tape would be analyzed frame by salacious frame at some point, particularly if legal action was taken. But Sam had no desire to see it again, and Jack hoped his friends would be spared as well. At least for now that's how it would be.

"What can we do to help, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, rescuing everyone and returning the conversation to what Jack saw as a useful topic.

"I need one of you to go with me to see Vanessa Miller," he said. Jack knew Sam wasn't up to it. Even if she was it wouldn't be a good idea. And he knew better than to go on his own.

"That would be me," Vala said.

Jack winced.

"I don't think…"

"She's right," Sam protested. "It might be easier for her to talk to another woman."

"Or more difficult to lie to me than to you, General," Vala added. "After all, it seems she still finds you attractive."

_Alright, they have a point_, Jack thought, _but I'm not sure I can tolerate even an earth bound mission with this woman._

"What of us, O'Neill?"

"Well for now I'm counting on you two being around for Sam," Jack said. "And Daniel, could you check the availability of your friend the hacker, what's his name?"

"You mean my classmate, the FBI agent, Isidore Thompson?"

"Yeah the one who specializes in computer crime or something," Jack replied, waving his hands around. "Have him on standby in case we need to him to get some information about how this was done."

"But Jack, Sam knows more than anybody this stuff."

"Daniel …"

"Yep, got it …

Sam paled at the thought of doing any research that would lead her to look at the tape again. Thank God Jack understood that. Then again, they really wouldn't want anyone at the SGC checking it out either.

"Meanwhile," she said, "I'll talk with our neighbors and see if they can describe the woman who gave them the envelope for me. If the description matches Vanessa, it'll make things much easier."

Jack nodded. _Not likely to happen he thought. Nothing is ever that easy._

"Alright," Sam said emphatically. "I for one have had enough of this. Who's ready for dinner?"

TBC

* * *

A/N: Please continue to review. And thanks! At this rate I might actually finish this before I go on vacation Sunday night!


	6. Chapter 6 The Other Women

Chapter Six: The Other Women

Vanessa Miller had only begun to settle into her new home on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. This was the last place she thought she'd end up. But Mary had gotten a new job. And for better or worse she'd decided to hitch her wagon to Mary's at least for the time being.

Life was different here, a long ways from the political intrigue of Washington or the bustling night life of New York. Those were her towns, her style. So much so she had to pay a visit to the old crowd in Washington last month.

The visit had been well timed. As luck would have it she met her dream Air Force officer right outside the Pentagon where she'd been cruising in hope of finding a likely new mark. Unfortunately, he wasn't interested in repeating their earlier tryst. She'd noticed a wedding band this time. Though that meant nothing to her, it obviously did to him.

She remembered him. He was special. At the age of thirty-four, Vanessa had long ago learned to distrust men. She'd been hurt more times than she cared to remember. So she'd set out to enjoy herself and gain power over men in the process. And if the situation was financially profitable, it was all the better.

That had been the plan when she met General Jack O'Neill six years ago. Of course he'd only been a Colonel then. Brash, handsome and sad, that's how she remembered him. In spite of the sadness she felt from him he'd been gentle with her, caring even. If she hadn't been careful, she could have fallen for this one. As it was, their brief fling lasted all of two nights, a golden weekend in Washington, before he returned to his home base and most likely, the woman who'd broken his heart.

Back then, she'd just begun her little sideline. A professional photographer by trade, Vanessa started to bring home men from various high class clubs around town. Regardless of what her good sense told her about this high risk practice, she rationalized it, telling herself she was relatively safe and, after all, she wasn't selling herself. She was simply having a good time, dating, choosing the men she wanted.

Then, on a whim, she started to videotape her encounters.

Initially she kept these recordings for insurance and her own amusement. Occasionally she would use one or another to extort money from a particularly well connected individual. Finally, she decided to start an internet business. "Pay per view", she called it. Her "business" took off overnight. Apparently there were more than enough cyber voyeurs out there to make her little cottage industry profitable.

For reasons she barely acknowledged to herself, Vanessa never included the tape of herself and the Colonel in her Internet repertoire. In retrospect, she would say it was because Jack seemed different from the rest. A good man, she had the feeling he didn't make a habit of one night or, in this case, two night stands.

In all honesty, she'd forgotten about that particular tape, tucked it away for safe keeping. Then Mary found it when they were unpacking a few months back. She seemed fascinated by this particular tape, not like the others. Vanessa had no idea why she was so interested. Then again, there were a lot of things Vanessa didn't understand about Mary.

OoOoOo

Early the next morning, Jack left to pick up Vala for their surprise visit to Vanessa.

Meanwhile, Sam made her way to the neighbor's house to talk with little Laurie and her mother. She was certain they had no idea the hornet's nest unleashed by the envelope they'd delivered to her. What's more Sam had no intention of telling them what the envelope contained. But she did need to know the identity of the anonymous mailperson.

Sam could be creative when she wanted to be. After all, as Rodney once told her she was an artist, even in her scientific pursuits. Without breaking a sweat, Sam came up with a believable story about how someone had sent her a very special greeting but forgotten to sign his or her name. And of course she wanted to be able to thank that person for the gift.

"Sam!" Five-year-old Laurie exclaimed as she opened the door to find one of her favorite people standing there. "Mommy," she called excitedly, "Sam's here!"

Karen joined her little girl almost immediately, smiling to see Sam at the door.

"Hi," she said. "I was a little worried when you didn't make it over for coffee the other day. I was going to come check on you but then I saw your friend, Daniel."

"I'm sorry, I meant to call you," Sam replied. "I got tied up with some things. In fact, that's really why I'm here now. I'm doing a little detective work."

"I love detectives," Laurie said, "I want to be a detective!"

Sam smiled brightly. Laurie was a little angel. She'd be happy to have a little girl just like her.

"Well Laurie, I have a job for a good detective," Sam said.

Karen watched Sam with Laurie. _She'll make a great mother_, Karen thought.

"Me! Me do it!" Laurie cried.

"You are exactly the one I had in mind," Sam said. "Do you remember the person who gave you the envelope for me the other day?"

"Sure I do," Laurie said. "The pretty lady gave it to me."

Karen smiled. "Laurie was all excited. She said the lady looked a lot like you, only 'she was short'".

"Wow, that's good," Sam said, directing her comments to Laurie. "I'll bet her hair was blonde, like mine."

"Yep," Laurie said definitively. "But it was shorter," she said, holding her hands just above her shoulders. "Like this."

"Okay, that's good," Sam said, encouraging the little girl. "And was she short or tall like me?"

"She was short," Laurie said, climbing up to sit beside Sam on the sofa and placing her hand at Sam's shoulder. "Like that."

"I think you're going to make a very good detective," Sam said. "Do you remember anything else?"

"She was wearing shorts, really short ones like mommy won't let me wear."

"Thanks honey," Sam said. "You did great."

Sam turned to Karen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see her very well," Karen said. "She knocked, handed it to Laurie and was walking away by the time I got to the door. I just saw her back. But like Laurie said, she was five-three, five-four, not much taller, and blond. Oh, and she got into a red Jeep and drove off." Karen stopped, looked meaningfully at Sam and said, "I hope everything's okay."

"Its fine," Sam lied, "I want to thank her for the gift is all." _If I can figure out who the heck she is, _Sam thought_. _Vanessa Miller was a brunette. So who was the short blond woman Laurie and Karen saw?

OoOoOo

As Sam talked with Laurie and Karen, Jack and Vala approached the house where they expected to find Vanessa Miller.

Jack was glad to see a vehicle in the driveway. Hopefully at 1000 hours on a Saturday morning, that meant someone was home. As they walked past the red Jeep to the front door, Jack fully expected Vanessa to answer the door. He realized he knew very little about the woman he'd come to see. He wasn't certain how much he wanted to know, particularly if she were responsible for making the tape and sending it to Sam.

When the door opened, he was surprised. Instead of the tall, brunette Vanessa, he and Vala were greeted by a petite blond, no older than twenty-five years of age. It was Mary.

TBC

* * *

A/N: Sorry, but I'm getting slowed down by life!! First of all the computer ate this chapter, not once but twice! Then lots of little problems, like the car dying just before vacation, an invasion of mice and other "special occurrences". When it rains it pours!! I think I need SG1 to come and bail me out!!

Anyway, there may be a delay getting the final 2-3 chapters written and posted, but I'll do my best.

Please let me know what you think of this one.


	7. Chapter 7 Mary

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. I was surprised to find no computer access where I was on vacation this past week. So I was relegated to writing the old fashioned way – pencil and paper! What a shock!

Chapter 7: Mary

She was barely fifteen years old when Johnny died. He was her hero. He protected her from the craziness of her home as she was growing up. Emotionally and physically he protected her, whenever he could. Then he was gone.

They were only half-siblings. Mary suspected the death of her father's first wife, Johnny's mother, was the result of domestic violence, a pattern of behavior her father used to terrorize her own family until the day he died. Then again, they had Johnny to protect them.

Johnny was fearless. A strong, well-built man, Mary's half-brother was more than able to manage their father by the time he was twenty. Unfortunately for Mary's family, he was living on his own before she was even born. Still he made it his business to frequent the household, often instilling the fear of God in their drunken, violent father.

From what he told her, things were much worse when he was growing up, before he was old enough to fight back. Johnny, as Mary loved to call him, had been the brunt of many a beating, especially when he tried to defend and protect his mother. Fortunately, by the time Mary was born, Johnny was big enough to make a difference. In fact after one particularly horrendous night where Johnny nearly put their father in the hospital, the beatings stopped. It was then that their father turned to emotional abuse.

Mary loved Johnny, idolized him. By the time she was seven, he'd enlisted in the Air Force and become involved in some fairly top secret missions. He was always doing his best to avoid telling her what he was up to, something that only made her all the more curious. She never found out about his work, but she did discover he was engaged. She really liked that woman at first, but, like so many others, it turned out she couldn't be trusted.

Then one day Mary and her mother received a visit from the Air Force informing them Johnny had died in the line of duty. Mary was crushed. She was fifteen; for her Johnny was as much father as brother. They were told no details could be released as to Johnny's service because it was need to know, and apparently family didn't need to know.

Although her mother seemed to accept that, Mary never did. In her mind, the woman who'd turned her back on Johnny had something to do with his death. And however long it took, she intended to make her pay.

OoOoOo

"Uh, excuse me, Miss," Jack stumbled as he saw Mary at the door. "We're here to see a Vanessa Miller."

Mary smiled pleasantly enough. She knew the casually dressed older gentleman had no idea who she was. But she knew him well enough.

"Mary, who …" Vanessa asked as she came up behind the younger woman. "Oh my, if it isn't General O'Neill," she said, scrambling to regain her composure. _What is he doing here and why in the world has he gone to the trouble of finding me?_

"Hello, Vanessa," Jack said, his voice smooth and non-committal. "I apologize for dropping in on you, but I, we," he corrected himself, gesturing towards Vala, "we need your help with a little situation that's come up."

"My help?" Vanessa questioned coyly, quietly eyeing Vala who eyed her back.

"Vanessa, I'll let you talk with your friends. I have some work to do upstairs," Mary said, excusing herself.

Vanessa nodded toward Mary then turned back to her visitors.

"To what do I owe the honor, General?" Vanessa asked pleasantly enough. Ushering the unexpected guests into her tastefully decorated living room, she continued, "You have to admit, you weren't exactly happy to see me in Washington."

"Guilty as charged," Jack nodded as he took his seat. Vala cooperated by sitting down beside him on the large davenport.

"Yeah," Jack continued, clearly uncomfortable. "That's part of what I need to talk with you about."

"Fair enough," Vanessa replied. "You've got my attention." Then staring at Vala, Vanessa demanded, "Who's your friend?"

"Ah," Jack said, turning toward Vala. "Lieutenant Vala Doran, my colleague."

In spite of herself, Vala winced at his use of her name. Jack had insisted they play it this way, as a quasi-official military investigation, but she didn't have to like it.

"Air Force?" Vanessa questioned, disbelief clearly coloring her tone.

"At your service," Vala snapped.

"Really?" Vanessa questioned. _Could have fooled me_, she thought, what with civilian dress and Vala's less than professional demeanor.

"See, we've got a problem here, Vanessa," Jack began, trying to things back on track.

Vanessa smiled, slowly shaking her head.

"I think _you_ have a problem," she continued. "You're wearing a wedding band and hanging out with this one," she said nodding at Vala. "She's not your type, you know."

"That's not the issue, Vanessa," Jack said impatiently. "Here's what it is. Someone sent a videotape to my wife two days ago. It's a tape of you and me in Washington last month and at the hotel six years ago." Jack swallowed hard and continued. "I need to know two things. First of all how that recording got made and then, who sent it and why."

Despite his obvious emotional involvement in this particular situation, Jack O'Neal was a skilled interrogator. He knew when a subject was rattled. And Vanessa was rattled; he'd hit a nerve.

"What do you know?" Jack persisted.

"There is a tape," Vanessa admitted, "at least of our time together six years ago, when we made love." To Jack's dismay, Vanessa smiled and winked at Vala as she added the last phrase of her admission. "But there's only one disc and it hasn't left my possession."

"You recorded us?" Jack asked indignantly, attempting in vain to control the escalating timber of his voice. Of course, Vanessa doing the recording was the obvious answer, particularly in light of what his sources had dug up about her recent background, but still he was surprised.

"It's what I do," Vanessa said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't," Vala whispered, just loud enough for Jack to hear. After all, the reason she'd come with him was to keep him out of trouble and she could see the explosion coming. _Time to take over_, she thought.

"Excuse me," Vala began. "Ms. Miller, despite what you apparently think, I am General O'Neill's aide-de-camp. I'm sure you understand our concern about negative exposure, given the General's position. Now, I'm certain you have no intention of using this tape for nefarious purposes but someone else obviously does not share your scruples. Anything you could do to help clear this up would be greatly appreciated."

"Why couldn't you say that, Jack?" Vanessa queried. "Lt. Doran is absolutely right; I've never used that tape in any of my usual activities. It's reserved for my private viewing. If you must know, I had something of a crush on you."

On the second floor, overlooking the large open area that was the living room, Mary sat quietly, effectively concealed behind an ornate, decorative screen. _I thought as much_, she said to herself as Vanessa admitted 'the crush'. _Don't you know what kind of a man he is?"_

While Mary continued to watch and listen, Vanessa got up from her seat and made her way to the adjoining room. Mary rightly assumed she was going to get the tape.

No sooner had Vanessa left the room than Jack's cell rang. Silencing the ring tone he'd picked personally (the theme from the Wizard of Oz), he heard Sam's voice on the other end of the line. She was calling to share the results of her morning's investigation. Though Sam was puzzled by the identity of the mysterious blond letter-carrier, for Jack, the pieces were beginning to come together.

As Jack ended the brief call, Vanessa came back, without the DVD. She looked distressed.

"I have no idea where it could be," she said. "Your wife watched it?"

"Yeah, she did," Jack said.

"And …" Vanessa prompted, waiting for the juicy details.

"And … we're working through it," Jack supplied. _As if it's any of your business_, he thought. "She knows it was a long time ago, before we were together."

"She believed you?" Vanessa persisted.

"Yes, she did," Jack answered with more than a little pride.

"No wonder you weren't interested last month," Vanessa observed. "Well good for you, Jack." Vanessa stopped to think for a minute then continued. "Somehow Mary knew you'd be there – in Washington – last month. She also seemed to know I had a thing for you, probably because she watched the tape with me a few months back. She told me you were married now, but you know me."

"Mary sent you?" Jack said. "The Mary we just met? She told you where I'd be?"

"She knew he was married?" Vala continued.

"Yeah," Vanessa said. "I wondered about that too. She said she'd never met you, just heard a lot about you."

"Alright," Jack said, "I've never met that woman in my life. How does she have access to any of this information?"

"I'm not sure," Vanessa admitted. "You can ask her. All I know is she started a job as a civilian contractor for the Air Force earlier this year. That's why we moved here. She works in something to do with computers and film editing. I remember she wanted to be involved with the Air Force because her brother was an officer."

"Do you happen to know his name or what he does?" Jack asked.

"Can't say as I remember," Vanessa answered, "but there's a picture of Mary and her brother on the mantle. It was taken a year before he died. Mary tells me the woman with him was his fiancée.

Jack and Vala got up together. They went over to look at the framed photo.

"Oh my!" Vala said.

"For crying out loud!" Jack exclaimed.

Sam was in the picture, standing hand-in-hand with Mary's brother.

OoOoOo

From her hiding place, Mary watched it all unfold.

He'd figured it out.

He knew.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

Mary left the house silently through the back door.

There were no goodbyes to be said … not yet.

TBC

* * *

A/N: Hope people are still around and reading despite the long delay. Please review.

Next chapter up ASAP.


	8. Chapter 8 Revenge

Chapter 8: Revenge

She didn't think of herself as a violent person.

She wasn't a killer.

When all this started she had no intention of physically harming anyone.

Ruining their lives? Yes, they both deserved that. Killing them? No, that had never been part of the plan.

The plan was simple. Juxtapose two video clips and send them to a pregnant wife who'd be devastated. One clip had been provided free of charge by Vanessa, the sin itself in living color. For the other, all Mary had to do was set it up and record it with her favorite telephoto lens in Washington last month. But her plan had failed. It should have been perfect. She'd miscalculated.

After her brother's death Mary immediately blamed Sam, the woman who'd promised to love him, the one who'd given him back his ring. Even as a teenager, Mary knew blaming Johnny's ex made no sense. Her brother's fiancée had left him more than a year before his death, but the grieving girl _had_ to blame _someone_.

The Air Force had offered very little by way of explanation, the "Top Secret" and "Classified" mantras littering any and all communication. There had been no body to bury, only an empty casket, painful, heartfelt tears and the ache of unknowing. Relatively powerless at the age of fifteen and having no idea where to find Johnny's betrayer (the woman seemed to have vanished from sight), Mary had descended into a pit of hate and anger, focusing blindly on the woman she dubbed "the bitch".

Mary stumbled into ill advised romantic relationships beginning at the age of seventeen. Copying the mistakes she'd seen her mother make with her father, she suffered through two abusive relationships and finally an abusive, alcoholic husband.

Within a year of her marriage at the age of twenty-one, Mary was hospitalized for the third time after yet another beating. This time her husband also injured two men who'd tried to help her. Assault charges were filed despite Mary's protests and Mary's husband was sentenced to a five year prison bid.

Before she could connect with another dysfunctional male, Mary met Vanessa. The relationship that developed between the two women was complicated to say the least. Vanessa, the older of the two, was protective, like an older sister. In spite of herself, she was attracted to Mary on altogether unexpected levels.

Mary, fragile, beaten in body and spirit was ready to consider a totally new kind of relationship. But, for better or worse, her confusion held her back. For now, she and Vanessa remained simply close friends.

One thing was for certain, young Mary was intrigued by her new friend's sexual exploits. As a bonding experience of sorts, Vanessa had told her about the internet site, even showed her a few of the videos she'd posted there. Though salacious, none made the impression of the Jack O'Neill video. Mary knew that man, at least by name. He was the one Capt. Conner had told her about.

Nathan Conner had come to see Mary shortly after her husband's incarceration. A Lieutenant when he'd accompanied Mary's brother on his last, ill-fated mission, Conner decided after all that time he owed her an explanation. Though in many ways he was as vague as the Air Force officials before him, he did provide one more piece of information, the name of the commanding officer assigned to extract Johnny after everything went bad. It was none other than Colonel Jack O'Neill. Worse yet, as Mary had always suspected, Sam had been along for the ride.

OoOoOo

"So Jonas did have a sister," Jack stated matter-of-factly, sitting next to Sam on their patio.

"Yes, Mary Hanson," she confirmed again.

After seeing the photo of Mary, Jonas and Sam at Vanessa's, Jack had called upstairs for Mary. Once everyone realized she'd left the residence, Vanessa talked with Jack and Vala about the enmity Mary held for the other woman in the photo. Needless to say, Vanessa was surprised to hear the woman was Jack's wife. Still, with that piece of information in hand, everything became clearer. Vanessa had no doubt Mary was the one who'd produced and delivered the damaging DVD. According to Vanessa, she had the technical skills and more than enough motivation to cause Sam pain.

Hearing all of this, Jack had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Mary hated Sam as much as Vanessa said she did and all of this was to hurt Sam, what would she do if she realized her plan had failed? Worried, he'd left Vanessa's with Vala and made his way home within the hour. Vanessa had promised to call him once Mary surfaced.

Now the O'Neills sat together, watching the sun go down. They'd spent the past four hours talking and doing Internet searches using Mary's full name, Mary Hanson Mitchell.

"And she worked at the SGC?" Jack stated more than asked. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around that piece of information Sam's special detective work had turned up.

"It seems that way," Sam said. Since learning all of this less than two hours ago, she'd been morose and preoccupied to say the least. "From what I could make out, for the past six months, Mary's been a civilian contractor working as a computer analyst on Level 8. For all I know, I've run into her on the elevator and not even known it. It's been a long time. She's all grown up," Sam finished, her voice soft and vulnerable.

"Were the two of you …" Jack paused, uncertain how Sam might have related to Jonas' little sister, "close?"

"Jonas and I were together a little over a year," Sam responded. "Even though he was based out of town, whenever he had leave, he'd go back to Seattle to see his sister. I'd go with him. He doted on Mary," she said.

"And you?"

"I felt sorry for her mostly," Sam revealed. "Her dad had died earlier that year. Even though from what Jonas said the man was a monster, it was still a loss. And her mother, well the woman looked like she'd been through hell and back. From what I saw, she was emotionally unavailable to Mary. The girl was on her own, especially after Jonas died. I should have done more. She needed someone."

Jack heard the guilt in Sam's voice as she remembered Mary. _Leave it to Sam to want to reach out and save the world,_ he thought. That compassion and sense of responsibility was part of what he loved about her. But given what Mary had done, he suspected the feeling in this case was misplaced. Worse yet, it could be a fatal flaw that might put her in needless danger.

"Sam, Mary's not a young girl anymore," Jack said. "She set out to hurt you, pull us apart. Kind of an elaborate scheme too, don't you think?"

"Your point?"

Jack looked at Sam thoughtfully. Her compassion could be her undoing.

"My point," he said slowly, reaching over to take her hand, "is that this grown woman managed to get a job in the SGC, gain access to illegally taped materials and set up the meeting in Washington last month, somehow getting access to an Air Force General's schedule." Jack paused, gathering his thoughts. "You need to keep your guard up."

"Yeah, I know," Sam replied sadly.

"By the way," Jack asked. "Why do you think she's doing this?"

"I haven't been in touch with her since Jonas' death," Sam began. Thoughtfully, she continued, "After what happened on the planet, I didn't even go to the funeral. I can only guess Mary's blaming me for some of what happened."

Jack got up and began to pace. They were both silent. After a few minutes, Jack sat down again immediately in front of Sam. Placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her very pregnant belly, he began to speak his mind.

"Listen, Sam," he said, "I know you might not like this, but I want someone with you at all times until we find Mary and figure out what's going on."

He was right, Sam didn't like it one bit. What she didn't like was someone forcing her to live her life differently. But Jack's concern, that was another thing altogether. She understood and appreciated that. Regardless of her belief in her ability to take care of herself, there was another life involved now and she'd do whatever was necessary to protect that life.

"When I can't be here, I want Daniel or Teal'c with you, okay?" Jack continued.

Sam was surprised to find her eyes watering.

"Probably a good idea," she said, doing her best to ignore the tears.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not," Sam said, "Can't be too careful, right?"

Jack had never seen Sam quite like this. Yes, he'd seen her in all sorts of situations. He'd seen her fearful, and exhausted, depressed, always for good reason. Still this was different. The fear he saw in her eyes now was fear for their child. They couldn't be too careful.

OoOoOo

The next day dawned dark and overcast. It was a perfect foil to Jack's mood.

There hadn't been much sleep for Jack or Sam last night. It was a night of tossing and turning, both awake and struggling with troubling dreams. Finally, they'd simply held each other, content to wait for the dawn. Now it was time for action.

Daniel and Teal'c would take turns keeping Sam company today, while Jack headed out to pry information from Mary's supervisor at the SGC. Actually, Sam would spend part of the day at her obstetrician's for her regular check-up. Jack intended to be home in time for that. He'd made a point of making all of her prenatal check-ups thus far.

He refused to let Mary Hanson Mitchell, or anyone else for that matter, separate him from Sam and their baby.

TBC

* * *

A/N: It seems I've lost some readers over the hiatus, but I'm delighted to see how many of you are still with me!

From the reviews, I know many of you figured out the identity of Mary's brother during the last chapter. Congratulations. Hopefully, if I haven't confused you too much, now it's clear to everyone. (If not, go back and watch the First Commandment from season 1 or e-mail me.) As you know I love to hear from you!


	9. Chapter 9 Confrontation

Chapter 9: Confrontation

Little more than seventy-two hours after receiving the manipulated DVD, Sam was hard at work on her home computer. With little success, she was doing her best to track down more information on the woman known as Mary Hanson Mitchell. On this warm summer's afternoon, she was jumpy, irritable and frustrated. She's already ordered Daniel out of her work space, insisting he was interfering with her concentration. She was beginning to think she'd lost her touch altogether when the side door bell rang.

"I'll get it," she heard Daniel yell from the living room. He'd been watching the History Channel for the past hour, patiently waiting for Sam to wrap up her search.

Despite his offer, Sam decided she needed to see who was at the door as well. Face it, she needed the distraction. At least with Daniel going to answer the bell, she didn't have to rush. She had to admit, it was taking a little longer to get out of the chair these days, something she didn't exactly appreciate. She made it as far as the living room no more than thirty seconds after Daniel called, but that was enough to spare her a first hand view of what happened next..

_Pop, pop…_ It wasn't loud, but the sound was unmistakable. The sound of a silenced gunshot froze Sam where she stood. Seconds later, she heard the door shut, followed by a cry of pain. Then footsteps; the shooter was in the house.

"Come out, Sam," a melodious female voice called. "Come out or I will kill him. That's not what you want now, is it."

Sam had no doubt who it was. She considered going for the weapon she and Jack kept in the bedroom, but realized it would take too long. For obvious reasons, given Jack's experience, it had been put under lock and key and kept unloaded. And her cell, well her phone was in her bag at the side door where she'd left it. She'd have to deal with this unarmed. And she had to assume Daniel had been injured.

"Sam?" Mary called again. In the background, Sam could hear Daniel telling her to get out of the house. His voice was weak, strained. Well that wasn't going to happen. There was no way she was leaving him.

"I'm right here," Sam called, coming around the corner into the living room. Mary was waiting for her.

Dressed in jeans and a navy sweatshirt, the petite blond intruder stood just in front of the now closed door. Daniel was crouched against the wall to the side of the door, clutching his left leg. Sam assumed Mary had shot him as soon as he answered the door, then dragged him inside. Now she held the gun pointed at Daniel's head. _She must have known I wouldn't be alone. She was ready_, Sam thought.

"Hello, Sam," Mary began.

"Mary …" Sam said haltingly.

"You _do_ remember me," Mary said. "I'm flattered."

"Whatever's wrong, we can talk, Mary," Sam said. "You don't have to do this."

"The time for talking was over a long time ago," Mary answered. She studied Sam carefully, her own face a mask of hatred and rage. "Now it's time for a little payback."

Sam swallowed hard, her hands instinctively moving over her abdomen. At the same time her eyes left Mary momentarily and zeroed in on Daniel. Propped up against the wall, he was bleeding from his left thigh. Sam satisfied herself that he didn't seem to be gushing blood, ruling out a possibly fatal arterial tear. Still he needed attention. What's more Mary had effectively limited her teammate's ability to move or be of any assistance.

"Okay, you're angry with me, I get that," Sam said, "but Daniel needs help." Without waiting for Mary's acknowledgement, Sam began to move toward Daniel.

"Don't move," Mary said flatly. Then gesturing toward Daniel, she said, "As you see I know how to use this. I didn't intend to kill your friend, simply incapacitate him. But I can change that if you force my hand. In fact he could be the first to go."

Sam stopped in her tracks. Doing her best to gauge Mary's resolve, she studied her face and stance. The younger woman was pale and drawn. Despite her bravado, anxiety was beginning to take its toll. Sam knew beyond a doubt the only way out of this would be to maintain her own calm demeanor and talk Jonas' sister down from her current state of emotional distress. In order to do that she would need to keep her own fear and negativity in check, at least for the time being.

Briefly Sam locked eyes with Daniel. Though more drastic measures might be required later, for now she would try talking. She wanted to be sure Daniel didn't try anything that might turn Mary's attention back to him.

"Alright, I'll stay where I am," Sam said. "You're scaring me, Mary. What do you want?"

"You always did get right to the heart of the matter," Mary said. "Sit down and we'll talk a bit. I want you to know why I'm going to kill you."

OoOoOo

Mary directed Sam to sit on the sofa facing away from the side door. That way, from Mary's perspective she could cover both Sam and Daniel without distraction. Though she doubted Daniel would be able to put up much of a fight at this point, she didn't want to be surprised.

"No sudden moves, either of you," Mary said, "or this will be a very short conversation."

Sam sat quietly, motionless, her hand cradling her abdomen. Her mind scrambled for a solution. To her knowledge, Jack wouldn't be back for another hour or so, and she wasn't expecting anyone else. Behind her, still holding up the wall, his body aching from the wound to his leg, Daniel had finished fidgeting in his back pocket. He let out a sigh of relief, realizing Mary had overlooked his subterfuge.

"I won't try anything," Sam assured her assailant. "What do you want?"

"Nothing you'll be willing to give," Mary answered menacingly.

"But you do want me to know why you're here," Sam stated.

"Absolutely," Mary said. "As I said, I want you to know why you have to die."

Sam breathed deeply, trying in vain to calm her nerves.

"What I want is vengeance," Mary said. "For Jonas, you have to pay for what you did to him. He's dead because of you."

Sam waited. She knew denials wouldn't help.

"He loved you and you threw him away like so much garbage. He was happy with you, happier than I've ever seen him."

"I'm sorry," Sam said. Then sincerely, "I never intended to hurt your brother."

"Right, like I believe that," Mary said. After a moment's thought, she continued, "When I couldn't find you, I forgot about you for awhile. But then I tracked you down."

"You got a job at the SGC," Sam supplied.

"I knew you'd figure that one out, Sam," Mary countered. "But did you know I found out about Colonel O'Neill too? The two of you left Jonas on that last mission. I bet you didn't think I'd ever find out."

"I never meant to hide anything from you, Mary," Sam said. "The circumstances surrounding Jonas' death were classified."

"And I didn't mean to kill you, Sam, really I didn't," Mary said, her voice tinged with a healthy dose of sarcasm. "Then I saw you at the SGC, heard you were married to that man and pregnant. Happy, after what you'd done to Jonas. It wasn't right. It isn't right. You don't deserve to live this life, not when Jonas can't."

"You aren't a killer, Mary," Sam said. "You're upset, angry with me, but you're not a killer. You only wanted to spoil things for me. That was the whole point of the tape, right? It was a good plan."

"Only it didn't work," Mary spat. "The two of you are still together. Happy, happy, expecting a baby in this perfect little world of yours."

Sam knew she'd have to act fast. Mary was spiraling out of control. Her voice was getting louder, her face was flushed. No longer did she look nervous or uncertain. She was angry, pure and simple. And she was escalating.

"I am sorry," Sam said. "I wish I could have helped Jonas, but I couldn't."

"I don't believe you," Mary said. "You decided he wasn't good enough for you and you threw him aside."

Mary stood up and motioned for Sam to do the same.

"It's time."

OoOoOo

As luck would have it, Jack and Teal'c were together at the SGC doing their best to pick up Mary's trail when Jack's cell rang. The Wizard of Oz theme stopped as soon as Jack flipped the phone open. While there was no answer to his irritated 'hello', the other end of the line was far from silent.

Though the sound was muffled, Jack could tell someone was in trouble. Caller ID let him know what he feared, it was Daniel's phone. He could hear two female voices, one he knew was Sam's.

She needed him.

They were on their way.

_Please Sam, be safe till we get there, _he thought_._

TBC

* * *

A/N: Thanks for continuing to read. I was going to finish things with this chapter, but couldn't resist one more cliffhanger!

Please push the button to review!


	10. Chapter 10 Coming to Terms

Chapter 10: Coming to Terms

"It has to be Mary," Jack said to Teal'c. His mind working overtime, he struggled with knowing the danger Sam was in at this very moment. "I never should have left her," he continued. "What was I thinking?"

"Neither of us believed Mary would strike this soon or this violently, O'Neill," Teal'c stated as they raced to the surface, hurriedly making their way to Jack's truck. It didn't take much for the Jaffa to sense his friend's desperate determination to reach his wife as soon as possible. As it was, even the heavily muscled warrior strained to match O'Neill's stride as he sprinted from the elevator to reach his vehicle for the trip home.

"I am surprised you have allowed me to bring a Goa'uld weapon out of the SGC," Teal'c observed once he'd managed to catch up with Jack.

"Whatever it takes, T., We might need it," Jack said gesturing toward the zat Teal'c now concealed in his jacket.

Jack threw open the driver's side door and jumped in, slamming the door behind him. Before Teal'c could close the passenger door, the vehicle was in motion. With no regard for the speed limit or rules of the road, he madly piloted his favorite vehicle over the local thoroughfares. He only wished Thor was available to instantaneously beam him to his location. Even that wouldn't have been soon enough for him. _If anything happens to her ..._ he thought.

"Samantha is a formidable warrior," Teal'c said, attempting to calm his distraught friend. "Furthermore, I believe Daniel Jackson is more than capable of mounting a significant defense. It was he who alerted us to this situation."

"Yeah, I know," Jack answered. It was the tone he used to tell Teal'c he'd prefer to go the rest of the way in silence. In fact he was devoting his energy and attention to listening to the feed from Daniel's phone. Teal'c was right, it was a stroke of genius that Daniel had the presence of mind to place the call and switch to speaker. _Otherwise... _

_Good, Sam, keep her talking_, Jack thought, listening to his wife stalling for time.

Then the phone cut out; there was silence, nothing.

"Damn it!"

Jack had no way of knowing why Daniel's phone cut out. He assumed the worst and hoped for the best. _If Mary had realized what Daniel was doing ..._

The truck went faster. There was no way Jack was stopping, even for law enforcement If anyone tried to stop him, he'd keep right on going and lead them all in a merry chase to his front door, to Sam's rescue.

OoOoOo

At the house, Sam realized her time was running out. She had to think and think quickly. Then she remembered. She knew this girl. It was a long time ago, but she knew Mary.

"Wait," Sam said, as she followed Mary's orders and rose to her feet. "I'm having a baby, Mary," she said. "The doctor says I'm having a boy. I know you don't want to hurt an innocent child. You have no argument with my child. Please, think of that."

Mary's face showed little recognition of what Sam was saying. Her index finger began to push against the trigger. Sam was loosing this battle, but she had one more card to play.

"Remember when your mom lost her baby, your little brother, before he was born," Sam said. "Jonas told me about it, how you cried and cried. You were only a little girl yourself. The baby was stillborn; Jonas believed your father had something to do with it, hurt your mom and your baby brother," Sam continued, closely watching Mary's reactions.

"You aren't like your father, Mary. You wouldn't hurt a child. Please, think, remember the baby."

Mary began to cry silently. Whether they were tears of sadness or rage, Sam wasn't completely certain. But Mary didn't drop the gun. While the tears continued to fall, the woman holding the gun pulled herself up sharply and regained her strength of will.

"How dare you compare yourself to my mother!" Mary shouted. "You're nothing like my mother! You don't deserve to have a child, not after what you did to my brother!"

It wasn't working. Sam's words simply antagonized Mary all the more. She knew what she had to do. She couldn't wait any longer.

Without warning, Sam gasped.

"Oh my God," she whimpered, doubling over in pain and holding her abdomen. "My baby..."

"Sam," Daniel called, beginning to crawl towards her, realizing inaction was pointless now. Whatever Mary was going to do she was going to do. He'd stop her any way he could. He couldn't anticipate what she actually did next. But Sam had guessed correctly.

Sam was on the right track when she called to mind Mary's mother's troubled pregnancy. She knew Mary had witnessed her mother's struggles when she was a young girl and mourned the loss of that baby. Instinctively, interpreting Sam's actions as signs another pregnancy was in trouble, Mary lowered her gun arm and rushed to Sam's side in a supportive gesture. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

As soon as Mary was at her side, Sam straightened up and flew into action. In an instant, the well trained officer kicked Mary's legs out from under her. Mary was thrown face first onto the carpeted floor. In the process, the pistol went flying out of her hand. More slowly than usual but just as effectively, Sam managed to pin her assailant to the floor, twisting one arm behind her back. In the meantime, Daniel succeeded in pulling himself forward far enough to gain possession of the handgun. Now, he reversed positions with the shooter.

"Stay right where you are," Daniel said from his braced position on the floor. "I know how to use this too."

With a sigh of relief, Sam glanced at Daniel from her uncomfortable position on the floor, kneeling over Mary.

"Thanks," she said, with a wan smile.

"You okay?" Daniel countered

"Now I am," Sam answered. "Much better; I'm not sure if I can get up, but here goes nothing."

Knowing Daniel had Mary contained for the time being, Sam grabbed onto the sofa behind her and pulled herself to a standing position. Without further ado she walked around Mary, still lying prone on the floor and past Daniel to the side table where the landline was.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked.

"Calling for help," she said.

"Jack should be here any second," Daniel replied. "I paged him," he said, pointing to his pocket with a proud grin.

"That's great," Sam said, "but you need medical help."

Daniel winced. "Yeah, I guess I do," he admitted, reminded of his tenuous condition by the throbbing pain in his leg.

"And we need the police."

OoOoOo

Though it was normally a twenty minute commute this time of day, it took Jack and Teal'c all of ten minutes to traverse the ten miles between the SGC and the O'Neill home. Barely putting the truck in park, Jack leapt from the driver's seat and positioned himself in a crouch beneath the large picture window looking into his living room. What met his eyes was far better than the sight he'd expected.

Sam stood facing the window, talking on the phone. Daniel was sitting spread eagle in the middle of the floor holding a gun on the blonde female intruder. The woman, most likely Mary, was still laying face down in front of Daniel waiting for what would happen next.

Sam waved when she saw Jack, all the while maintaining her concentration on the phone call. She looked okay.

She waved at him. Here he was, his heart pounding out of his chest all the way over here and she was waving at him! He should have known she could take care of herself. Signaling Teal'c to go in, Jack got up and followed his good friend into the house. Gratefully there was no need for the extra weapons they'd brought with them.

Teal'c went directly for the intruder, pulled her to her feet and securely restrained her. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. Without a second thought, he gladly surrendered the gun to Jack who removed the clip and placed the weapon out of harm's way. By then, Sam had completed her 911 call and put down the phone. Jack was at her side.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, doing her best to flash him a slight smile. "The ambulance is for Daniel."

"I _am_ the one who's shot," Daniel protested, feigned deep distress over Jack's lack of concern.

"Yes, you are," Jack said. Despite that acknowledgment, Jack focused all of his attention on his wife. What with Teal'c clearly in charge of the situation with Mary, Jack slowly wrapped his arms around Sam. In spite of herself, Sam all but collapsed into his arms. She had to admit, she was emotionally exhausted and so glad to see Jack riding to the rescue. Plus, she didn't feel all that well. For a moment she simply let herself relax into her husband's arms.

Then the sirens drew closer. The ambulance, followed closely by the police cruiser, had arrived.

Reluctantly, Sam pulled back from Jack's embrace.

"I need to talk with her Jack," Sam said, "before they take her away."

Jack couldn't believe his ears. The woman had tried to kill his wife and child, and Sam wanted to _talk_ with her. Jack wanted to strangle Mary, not talk with her. He was glad Teal'c had been the one to restrain her. He wouldn't have trusted himself.

"You sure?"

"Yes," Sam said. "I owe her that much."

OoOoOo

The next week found everyone slowly getting back to normal.

Much to Jack's chagrin, Daniel hadn't been the only one requiring a trip to the emergency room. Shortly after Mary was taken into custody, Sam complained of abdominal cramping. With Jack beside himself, she'd been ushered to her obstetrician and admitted overnight for observation. Turns out, hand to hand combat, wasn't exactly recommended for pregnant woman. Fortunately the only damage done had been a pulled groin muscle. The baby, gratefully, seemed content to stay put for the time being.

Meanwhile, Daniel's wound had been treated, a cast was applied to his leg and he was fitted with crutches. He was released from the hospital the next day with activity restrictions he promptly violated in order to visit the O'Neills. Vala insisted she'd agreed to drive him over under extreme emotional duress.

As for Mary, well, she'd been arraigned the next morning, charged with assault in the matter of Daniel's shooting. At Sam's instigation, a fairly elaborate plea agreement had been worked out. In exchange for an abbreviated prison sentence, Mary agreed to a prolonged period of post release supervision and mandatory long term therapy. Where she could have received up to fifteen years on all charges, the plea agreement allowed for two years at a minimal security women's prison, followed by five years supervised release.

What's more, the O'Neills agreed to forgo any charges stemming from the unauthorized making and use of the DVD. That meant neither Mary nor Vanessa would be charged in that matter. Better yet, for the O'Neills, no one else need be aware of the existence of that particularly objectionable piece of handiwork. In a private document drawn up by their lawyers, a conditional release was detailed where the O'Neills were guaranteed all copies of the DVD had been turned over to them. Any violation of that agreement would result in immediate prosecution of both women to the fullest extent of the law.

If it had been up to Jack, he would have thrown the book at Mary. Be that as it may, one week after Sam and Daniel had been held at gunpoint, Jack was getting used to seeing things Sam's way … very slowly.

"Sam, I get it," Jack said. "You feel sorry for her. But do you _have to_ visit her?"

"No, I don't _have_ to," she replied. "But I want to do it. She may not want to see me, but I can try."

"So I'll go with you," Jack said. He knew better than to try to talk Sam out of something once she'd made up her mind. And he certainly wasn't having her go alone.

"Can you explain one thing to me?"

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Why?"

"Why visit Mary?"

Jack nodded.

Sam took a deep breath. She grabbed Jack's hand in one of hers and placed it on her abdomen. With her other hand she tenderly stroked his cheek. She had his full attention.

"We're having a baby in less than three months," she said. "He'll be one lucky kid; he'll have two parents who'll always be there for him. Maybe I'm foolish, but Mary never had that. Everyone abandoned her, including me. I'd like to do something about that, even if it's only visiting her in prison. Nobody else will."

Jack reached up with his free hand, tangling his fingers gently in her hair. He thanked God she was safe. Sam, his wife, the one he loved more than anything. He knew she wasn't the kind to sappily believe Mary's behavior could be excused by a poor childhood. Still, Sam cared. And whether or not he could agree with her, he loved her all the more.

The End

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I hope you enjoyed the story. Reviews, thoughts, suggestions for improvement greatly appreciated.

I'm intending to take a break from fanfic writing for awhile (I'll see how long that resolution lasts). I'm planning to take time to sit back and enjoy reading some of _your_ stories!


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